Ulster County Legislature committee endorses opposition to state gun law

By WILLIAM J. KEMBLE

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

STONE RIDGE, N.Y. -- Gun enthusiasts gave the Ulster County Legislature's Law Enforcement and Public Safety Committee a standing ovation Thursday for endorsing a resolution that opposes recently approved state restrictions on firearms ownership.

The resolution was discussed during a committee meeting that attracted about 290 people to Ulster County Community College.

Glenford-Wittenburg Sportsmen's Club member Rich Vizzini said the resolution was important in letting state lawmakers know the importance of maintaining Second Amendment rights.

"I think the method in which the (state) SAFE Act was passed was definitely an illegal method," he said.

"No urgency existed for it to have been rushed through," Vizzini said. "There are 25,000 words, there are 63 parts to the SAFE Act, and our legislators were given less than an hour to digest and understand probably one of the most complex laws that has been enacted in the past 15 years."

Saugerties Fish and Game Club member Don Baker, who is also a 26-year member of the state police, said that some of his private weapons would be considered illegal under the new law.

"The way they wrote the law my .22-caliber target rifle is now considered an assault weapon and that's ridiculous," he said.

"The whole act was very poorly done, I think it's not necessary, and it's not going to solve anything," he said. "It's not the law-abiding people that cause the problem."

County Legislature Chairwoman Terry Bernardo, who opened the session with a 15-minute history of state gun-control efforts, drew handshakes following the vote. Among her comments was noting that some past efforts to reduce gun violence have failed spectacularly.

"In 2001 New York state started spending millions and millions of dollars on the New York State Combined Ballistic Identification System," she said. "They would fire the gun when they make it, keep the bullet, and the idea was if a crime was committed you find the bullet that a crime was committed with and you're going match it up with the gun, and it didn't solve any crimes."

Bernardo added that state lawmakers should have spent more time with the legislation and given residents an opportunity to make comments.

"I'll put it in a woman's terms," she said. "You wouldn't want to pass a law that makes it illegal just for cosmetic reasons. I can look one way when I come to work and I throw on a suit and some makeup and fix my hair and I look another way when I wake up in the morning but you wouldn't want to pass a law saying that just because I looked that way in the morning that was problematic."

The resolution is scheduled to be on the Feb. 19 agenda of the full county Legislature.